When
Ben leaps onto a naval battleship during war games in 1989, he must not
only navigate a dangerous rescue mission but also contend with his
commanding officer, XO Alexander Augustine, otherwise known as
Addison’s father.
TV
Guide Synopsis: When
Ben leaps onto a naval battleship during war games in 1989, he must not
only navigate a dangerous rescue mission but also contend with his
commanding officer, XO Alexander Augustine, otherwise known as
Addison’s father.
Broadcast
Date: Monday, March 6, 2023 @ 10pm on NBC
Leap
Date:
May 2, 1989
Leap Location:
USS Montana Battleship in the East China Sea
Name of Leapee: Commander Rossi
Detailed Synopsis:
Ben
leaps onto the Naval Battleship USS Montana in 1989 in the midst of
battle! He soon discovers it was a readiness drill. A Chinese sub has
been shadowing them, wanting a front row seat to exercises with the
South Koreans and Australians.
Addison
arrives and says Ziggy's running slow, which Ben thinks would be a
great name for a band. As captain Bill Drake makes a speech to
the crew over the loudspeaker system, Addison realizes they
are about a ship that her own father served on, and rushes out to see
him (XO Alexander
Augustine, played by Brandon Routh).
At
PQL, Magic and Jenn are astounded that Ben has Leaped so close to a
family member of Addison. Ian tells them that they have no way of
targeting a specific place in time, but perhaps Ben figured it out.
Addison
tells Ben that he is the Operations Officer and is third in command.
She begins to tell Ben why he is there. The scene passes back and forth
between Addison telling it, and Magic recounting the same events from
back at PQL. The ship picked up a distress signal, but her father
decided not to pursue it. The distress signal was from the USS Tampa
and no one knew the sub was there. Because the signal was ignored, the
entire crew of the Tampa perished. Addison's father's reputation was
destroyed in the process. Addison adds that her father left her and her
mother and she harbors ill feelings towards her father due to this.
Following
this revelation, Captain Drake discovers that the Chinese sub is still
following them, and orders the crew to train the fire control radar on
the sub. This is considered hostile, and Commander Augustine convinces
Drake to drop the order. The Master Chief lets on that Drake is
becoming worse, but Augustine puts him off. The distress call Addison
warned Ben about earlier comes in. Her father immediately tells the
crew that they will answer the distress call. This surprises Addison,
because in the original history, she understood that he was the one who
ignored it. We quickly find out that it was actually Drake who forced
the ship to ignore the call, believing it to be a fake from the
Chinese, and Augustine covered it up out of respect for his long-time
commander.
At
PQL, Ian has tasked Ziggy with finding a way to prove that the distress
call was authentic. Jenn suggests that the explosion that happened on
the Tampa was caused by something, so in order to find the truth, she
asks Magic to meet with his old friend who was with the Chinese Navy at
the time of Ben's Leap.
Ben
calls Lieutenant Walker via radio, who is in charge of communications.
He asks Walker to compare the wavelength of the distress signal with
that of the Chinese. Doing this could prove the distress call
authentic. Walker radios back that is was indeed one of our ships and
the Captain agrees to speed to their location. At the same time,
however, the Captain has fired a warning shot at the Chinese sub,
causing the rest of the crew to panic and doubt the rational motives of
Drake. The Chinese sub leaves, avoiding war, for now.
Magic visits
with Liu
Wei, a friend from the Chinese Navy. He asks Wei to offer any
information. Wei explains that they came close to something very bad.
Ben
and XO Augustine speak about Addison briefly, as Ben and Addison notice
toddler photos of her on Alexander's wall. Augustine warns Ben that he
will not tolerate insubordinate talk about Drake's mental status, as he
is a great man who the XO had served under Drake for 20 years.
Addison's father then tells Ben about his own family and speaks about
how his father beat his mother and him. As a younger man, Augustine
nearly killed his own father one night due to the drinking and beating
of his mother. He enlisted in the Navy the next day and it was Drake
who got him into the Naval Academy and taught him how to be something
other than angry. He vows to keep Drake in check and dismisses Ben.
On
the desk, Addison wonders why her father was so cold to him. She then
gets a message from Ziggy saying that the crew of the Tampa still
perishes. Immediately, there is an explosion from a detonation on the
port side of the ship! Drake suspects that the Chinese sub fired a
torpedo at them. Augustine secretly enlists Ben to find out what really
happened before Drake starts a war with the Chinese.
Liu
Wei tells Magic that a mine sunk the Tampa submarine in 1989. He
explains that the Chinese knew the Americans were testing the
territorial limits of the waters, so they laid mines along the
coast. However, a bad storm released about 50 mines into the
ocean towards the US war games. One of the mines sunk the Tampa and
luckily no other ships were around. Magic calls Jenn and tells her that
Ben is sailing into a minefield.
Hearing
of the mine situation, Ben asks Addison to help him locate other mines
to prove what really happened with the explosion. Ben calls Walker via
radio again and asks him to use sonar to find the other mines. This
plan works and mines appear all around them on the sonar screen.
Augustine calls Drake and informs them that it wasn't the Chinese after
all. However, Drake suspects the worst and orders the crew to fire at
the Chinese sub anyway, thinking the sub must have laid the mines.
Augustine runs out and says he has to stop Drake. He drops the anchor
to stop the ship from moving further. Drake then confines Augustine to
his quarters and threatens to send him to Leavenworth prison. Ziggy
says that if Drake fires on the Chinese, they will go to war.
At PQL, Jenn warns
Magic that these events are about to have global impact. Magic gives a
great short speech here: "I don't believe the Leaps are random. I
don't believe
it's all just a roll of the dice. The moral arc of the universe is
long... but it bends toward justice. That's
what I think we are... what Quantum Leap is. Part of whatever
mysterious force, bends that arc... for the better."
A
clear distress call comes in from the Tampa. The helicopter rescue can
only hold 10 men at a time, but Drake won't give up hunting the Chinese
sub. Addison tells Ben that there is only one man on the ship that may
be able to talk sense into Drake. Ben goes to Addison's father and
reveals that he believes if he leaves his wife and daughter, that they
will be happier in their own lives. Ben tells Augustine that he must do
what needs to be done and save Drake from himself. Ben helps Augustine
escape from his holding quarters to get to Drake in time to prevent the
mistake.
On
the bridge, Augustine and the rest of the officers help Drake
understand that he is making a severe error. Drake catches a glimpse of
himself in a reflection during the height of his rage and stands down.
He gives Augustine command of the rescue mission and retires to his
quarters. Addison gets the detonation codes of the mines from Ziggy and
they safely make it to the distressed sub and complete the mission,
saving the entire crew. Addison gets to share a moment with her father
alone and tells him that whatever problems his dad had, it stops with
Alexander. She tells him everything is going to be okay, and although
he can't hear his holographic future daughter, he says to himself,
"Everything's gonna be okay."
Back
on the main deck of the ship, Walker approaches Ben and thanks him for
saving them. We then realize Walker is actually Richard Martinez...
Leaper X! Martinez says he isn't sure he could have "pulled this off"
from where he was sitting today without Ben's help. Ben tells Martinez
that he doesn't understand. Martinez replies, "I know. And that's why
I'm going to win." Martinez then Leaps and is replaced by the real
Walker, who is very confused about how he got there.
Ben tells Walker
that he is confused too, and then Leaps.
Personal
Review & Detailed Synopsis by Brian Greene:
This
episode was action-packed from start to finish and the appearance from
Martinez at the end was a big surprise! A re-watch of the episode
reveals that it is indeed Martinez's voice on the radio three times.
And the easter egg that he is from Mississippi also hints that it was
Martinez who Ben had spoken to throughout the entire episode. The
characters were fleshed out well and it was wonderful to see the
dynamic between Addison and her father. Giving Addison some closure to
years of misunderstanding between she and her father was appreciated.
The effects were done well although a few shots of the ship without
crew were lifted from the 2012 Universal film, "Battleship." An
enjoyable hour of Quantum Leap fun with a few revelations about one of
our heroes (Addison) and a continuation of the mysterious Leaper X
story arc.
Project
Trivia: When
Ben Leaps in, his ears are ringing from a blast heard prior to arrival.
Due to the new process of Quantum Entanglement, the host and Ben are
merged thus allowing him to feel the effects.
Martinez
(Leaper X) guesses that Ben's team found a younger version of himself
and tells Ben that he can't imagine his younger self had any intel to
give.This refers to the events in "What A
Disaster" when Magic and Jenn question Martinez as a younger man.
Another Project upgrade involves Ben and Martinez to see each other as
themselves without touching first. In the original series, two Leapers
must make physical contact to achieve this as Sam and Alia did in "Deliver Us From Evil"
and Sam and Zoey in "Revenge."
Ian admits that they don't know everything about the Quantum
Accelerator.
Ben Trivia: None.
Addison Trivia: Alexander
Augustine is Addison's father.
Addison was likely born in late 1986 or early 1987 as Alexander also
tells Ben she is two and a half years old during the Leap. This makes
her approximately 36 years old in the present time of 2023.
Alexander left Addison and her mother in the original timeline.
Addisons Grandfather on Alexander's side drank heavily and beat
Alexander and Addison's Grandmother.
Alexander calls Addison "Addie."
Ian's
Outfits Worn in
the Episode: Brown sleeveless shirt. We never see Ian
below the waist in this epsiode.
Kiss With History: None.
Miscellaneous
Trivia: The closest
real Naval ship bearing the number 77 is the
USS O'Kane (DDG-77). It is an Arleigh
Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. The
ship was built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine,
starting on 8 May 1997. The ship was commissioned on 23 October 1999.
She is named for Medal of Honor recipient Rear
Admiral Richard O'Kane. The production was not allowed to use the
name of any real Naval ship.
The movie "Crimson Tide" was inspired by real-life events in the
1960's. This episode is also based around those same events.
Some of the battleship action scenes were footage from the movie
"Battleship." Color correction and darkening for the night shots was
utilized to blend in with the episode. You will see some familiar shots in the video below!
The nuclear reactor set from "Leap. Die.
Repeat." was used here with alterations for some of the scenes shot
inside the ship.
From the Quantum Leap
Writers Room:
Behind the scenes fact: this episode was shot aboard the USS Iowa,
which made for an epic set!
From Caitlin Bassett's
Instagram:
QUANTUM
LEAP – SERIES REGULARS
Dr.
Ben Song (Portrayed
by Raymond Lee)
–
Ben is a first-generation American, a world-renowned physicist, and a
man of faith. He’s also working on Quantum Leap, a time travel project.
But when he uses the project on himself, he’s transported back in time
with a bout of amnesia – forgetting what made him
time travel in the first place.
Addison Augustine(Portrayed
by
Caitlin Bassett) –
Addison is a smart, witty, fearless ex-military operative who now
serves as Project Observer at Quantum Leap HQ. She’s in charge of the
technology they use to communicate with the past, and tries to rescue
her fiancee, Ben, from his time-flung existence.
Ian Wright(Portrayed
by Mason Alexander
Park) –
Quantum Leap’s nonbinary chief architect of the AI program.
Herbert
“Magic”
Williams (Portrayed by Ernie Hudson) – A
Vietnam vet and current head of the time
travel project at Quantum Leap. Herbert “Magic” Williams tries to keep
the Pentagon at bay
while the team tries to rescue Ben. Doctor Sam Beckett leaped into
Magic during his Vietnam tour.
Jenn Chu
(Portrayed by Nanrisa Lee) –
Head of security at Quantum Leap HQ. Quirky but
formidable, she makes it her mission to figure out why
Ben erased all evidence of why he Leaped.
Guest
Cast: Walter
Perez as Leaper X / Richard Martinez, who has leaped into Lieutenant
Walker
Brandon Routh as XO Alexander Augustine
Alex Carter as Captain Bill Drake
Emerson Brooks as Master Chief Nash
Rocky Myers as Shaw
Kelvin Han Yee as Liu Wei
Rich Paul as Navigation Officer Murray
Justin Dean as Chief Engineer Lopez
David Ginlet as Officer of the Deck
Chris Carney as Surface Warfare Officer
Max Pescherine as Turret Specialist
Sean Samuels as Lieutenant Walker
Guest
Cast Notes:
Walter
Perez (Leaper X / Richard Martinez / Walker) was
raised in South Gate, California, just 20 miles southeast of Hollywood.
He was always eager to express himself artistically. In his earlier
years, he often directed and played the lead character in several
homemade movies where he mimicked his movie idols such as Charlie
Chaplin. His working-class parents were unable to afford him the
resources he needed to gain access to the industry. It wasn't until he
heard about Colors United, a performing arts group aimed at inner-city
high school students that he really got the chance to show others his
talents. For three years he honed his acting, singing and dancing
skills with the group. Since
high school, Walter has juggled auditions and a full-time schedule at
Cal State Fullerton. During college, he has booked several commercials
and various guest star spots on prime time television shows. Most
recently, Walter's guest appearances include "CSI: Miami", "The Closer"
and "Free Radio" as well as a five episode arc on "Friday Night
Lights". His feature film credits include HBO's "Walkout" and winner of
the John Cassavetes award "August Evening". He just completed the title
role in "Emilio" and worked on "Run For Your Life" alongside Dermot
Mulroney and Diane Kruger. Brandon Routh (XO Alexander
Augustine) - (pronounced
like "south") was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in nearby
Norwalk. He is the son of Catherine (Lear), a teacher, and Ronald
Routh, a carpenter. He has English, Scottish, and German ancestry.
Brandon attended the University of Iowa and starred in many productions
at the Norwalk Theater of Performing Arts. His first professional
acting role was in the ABC television series Odd Man
Out (1999), and he went on to guest star in the series Chuck
(2010-2011), Gilmore Girls (2000) and Undressed (1999).
He came to fame with Superman Returns (2006) and DC's
Legends of Tomorrow (2016). In his spare time, Routh enjoys
playing soccer and basketball, swimming, biking and reading.
Alex Carter (Captain Bill
Drake) was
born on November 12, 1964 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor,
known for The Island (2005), Veritas: The
Quest (2003) and Out of Time (2003). Emerson Brooks (Master Chief Nash) stars
in the Netflix comedy Uncoupled alongside Neil Patrick Harris. Emerson
recently starred in the Off-Broadway NY Times Critics' Pick drama
"...What the End Will Be" at with the Roundabout Theatre Company in New
York City. Best known for his series regular role in TNT's long-running
series, The Last Ship, Emerson has also appeared in numerous TV shows
and films including The Lincoln Lawyer, Blue Bloods, Queens, Arrested
Development, and The Office. His film credits include Marvel's Captain
America: The Winter Soldier, Terminator: Salvation and Super 8. Emerson
has lent his voice and movements to over 50 video games including
Fallout: New Vegas, several Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto. He is a
recipient of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime
Drama for his critically acclaimed performance in All My Children.
Emerson is also a United States Army veteran.
Rocky Myers (Shaw) is
the son of educators and the youngest of four brothers. As an
undergraduate, Rocky attended Wesley College (Dover, DE), where he
maintained a 4.0 GPA in Biology while also playing intercollegiate
football. He was a two-time All-America selection at defensive back
and, as a senior, was one of fifteen college football players from
across the nation to be named a National Football Foundation and
College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete. Following his senior
season, Rocky was also the recipient of The Gagliardi Trophy, awarded
to the National Player of the Year for DIII College Football. He was
the first defensive player to ever receive that honor. After Rocky
graduated Summa cum Laude from Wesley College, he attended Widener
University School of Law. While at Widener Law, Rocky secured
internships with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware, as
well as the Delaware Attorney General's Office. He graduated from
Widener Law School with Honors and, upon receiving his Juris Doctor,
moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
Kelvin Han Yee (Liu Wei) is
an American actor of Asian descent whose career spans over 30 years of
film, television and theater. He was discovered by the American
Conservatory Theatre working as a bouncer but then went on to act at
regional theaters like Oregon Shakespeare Festival at Ashland, Berkeley
Repertory Theater and The Huntington Theater. in 1985 he was cast in
the first American movie shot in the People's Republic of China, as the
all-American-Chinese teenager in A Great Wall, and has appeared in many
films including Milk, Lucky You, The Island, Copycat, True Crime. On
television he continues to demonstrate a great range of characters on
shows like Chicago PD, Hawaii Five 0, The Mentalist, Lie To Me,
Criminal Minds, Prison Break, 24, Chuck, Entourage, Accidentally On
Purpose, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Nash Bridges and in Soap Operas. He has
used his background to help others by mentoring incarcerated youths,
bringing arts education to public schools and youth advocacy. He plays
the guitar loudly and badly. He is passionate about food and enjoys
cooking for his wife and his best friend; a rescued 60lb English
Bulldog named Louie who is also an actor.
Rich Paul (Navigation Officer
Murray) was born on
January 15, 1981 in the USA. He is an actor and producer, known
for Godzilla (2014).
Justin Dean (Chief Engineer Lopez) is known for The
Watcher (2022), The Equalizer (2021) and Games
People Play (2019).
David Ginlet (Officer of the Deck) is known
for Billions (2016), Power Book II: Ghost (2020)
and Those Who Came Before (2018).
Chris Carney (Surface Warfare
Officer) was
born on August 19, 1980 in Ohio, USA. He was previously married
to Tiffany Thornton. He died on December 4, 2015 in Hot Springs,
Arkansas, USA.
Max Pescherine (Turret Specialist)
is known for Gaslit (2022), Fatal Attraction (2023)
and Over There (Dodge College Thesis Film) (2021).
Sean Samuels (Lieutenant Walker) is
known for bringing eclectic points of views to his characters. With a
background in music theater performance he is not afraid of taking on a
challenge when it comes to developing grounded and interesting
characters. In his career thus far he has performed on broadway in ;
Tarzan the musical, Curtains, and Spiderman-Turn off the dark. He'a
also played a variety of characters on screen ranging from an abandoned
football player lost amongst vengeful transients in DTLA in 'Parasites'
written and directed by Chad Ferrin, to a vulnerable dance teacher who
is drowning in unrequited love in 'Giants' the hit youtube series
executive produced by Issa Ray and Jussie Smollett. When Sean gets a
chance to break away from performing he travels internationally and
domestically to recruit talent for his alma matter, The American
Musical and Dramatics Academy. For a deeper look into Sean Samuels you
can follow him on Instagram @MrsSeanSamuels, on Twitter@Sean_Samuels or
on Facebook. www.SeanSamuelsla.com
Guests Who Appeared in Other Quantum
Leap Episodes: Walter
Perez returns as Leaper X / Richard Martinez, who has leaped into Captain
Walker.
Characters
who appeared in Classic Series episodes: None.
Songs
& Music: Score
music by Daniel James Chan
Say
What? Ben's reflection does not
mimic his hand movements during the brief scene.
An XO would probably not
call a subordinate by their first name as Alexander does to Carl.
A detained officer would not be taken directly to the bridge - Ben
would have been taken to a separate holding area.
Magic quotes Matin Luther King slightly wrong. The real quote was "The
arc of the moral universe..." Magic says "The moral arc of the
universe..."
Military belts are dressed metal to metal where the metal end of the
belt is aligned to the buckle. This seems relaxed here as belts seen
are adjusted sloppily compared to normal military standards.
A special effects counter that should have been removed can be briefly
seen in a shot of the USS Montana.
What was Martinez's mission on his Leap? It's unclear how Ben helped
him.
Quotable Quotes:
"Holy
Ship."
-Ben
"Ok, ok, easy, McFly."
-Ian
Magic: "I don't believe the Leaps are random. I don't believe
it's all just a roll of the dice. The moral arc of the universe is
long... but it bends toward justice." Jenn: "Martin
Luther King." Magic: "That's
what I think we are... what Quantum Leap is. Part of whatever
mysterious force, bends that arc... for the better."
"There's an old hymn. Set the walls around your heart. Build them
strong with stone. Do what must be done." -Alexander
"You have done nothing but love me
and make me the person I am today."
-Addison
Production
Photos:
Production Videos: Coming Soon
Production
Credits:
Consulting Producer: Moira Kirland
Producer: Tim
Scanlan
Producer:
Meg Fister Co-Executive Producers: Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes Co-Executive Producer: Drew Lindo Co-Executive Producer: Aadrita Mukerji
Co-Executive Producer: Marc
Bienstock Executive Producers: Steven Lilien &Bryan Wyndrandt Executive Producer: Alex Berger Executive Producer: Chris Grismer Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario Executive Producer: Dean Georgaris
Executive Producer: Martin
Gero
Developed by: Steven Lilien &Bryan Wyndrandt Created by: Donald
P. Bellisario Written by: Dean Georgaris Directed by: Chris Grismer
Associate Producer:
Ethan Henderson
Story Editor: Margarita
Matthews
Casting by: Jennifer
Cooper, CSA Original Casting By:Kamala
A. Thomas Director of Photography: Ana M.
Amortegui, ADFC Production Designer: Mayling Cheng
Edited by: Christina Castro Music by:
Daniel James Chan
Unit Production Manager: Melanie J. Elin Unit Production
Manager: Marc Bienstock First Assistant Director: M. Ryan
Traylor Second Assistant
Director: Yarden Levo
Costume
Designer:Genevieve
Tyrrell A Camera Operator: Dave Hirschman B Camera/Steadycam
Operator: Josh Harrison Production
Sound Mixer: Beau Hodges Chief Lighting
Technician: Donna Vega Key Grip:
Peter Chrimes Art Directors: Raf Lydon
& Adam Rowe Set Director: Tim
Stepeck Costume Supervisor: Mark A. Summer Property Master: Erik
Grasteit Construction
Coordinator: Matt Sazzman Department Head
Hair: Kaylie Klone Gross Department Head
Makeup: Julia Lallas Leadman:
David Napoli Stunt Coordinator:
Jeff Barnett Location Manager: Kevin
Funston Transportation
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Palmer Casting Accociates:
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Kent Music
Co-Supervisor: Leah Harrison Music Editor: Zed
Starkovich Assistant Editor: Clinton
Steeds Online Editor: Richard
Wells Colorist: Chris Boyer Visual Effects
Supervisor: Trent Smith Visual Effects
Editor: Aaron Merrill Supervising Sound
Editor: Kelly Cabral Co-Supervising
Sound
Editor: Kevin Zimmerman Re-Recording
Mixer:
Yuri Reese & Sean
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Collorafice VFX Artist: Takashi
Takeoka Assistant Art Director: Clayton
Ford Set Designer: Andre Dassin Art Department Coordinator: Alexander
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